Spirit Baptism #1

Have you ever had encounters with God that have shaken your world up? I remember when I first walked into Bible college, there were a lot of weird way of worshipping that I wasn’t comfortable with. People would raise their hands, or maybe shout things like “Hallelujah!” One guys was dancing around… Oh man it was so weird. So you can imagine that when we all went on a retreat in the fall semester that year that focused on encountering the Holy Spirit, I was very much out of my comfort zone. people were laughing, and speaking in tongues, and it was just too much for me. A buddy of mine and I left and went to go sit in the main lodge.

I spent much of my first two years in Bible College moving from a place of skeptical, to tentatively desiring the Holy Spirit to be poured out on me like He was poured out on the believers in Acts. But despite earnestly desiring - and being kind of embarrassed - I didn’t speak in tongues, or get “baptized” as they called it.

It wasn’t until third year, in the middle of Covid, in my parents’ basement during a silent prayer meeting I was finally willing to let the Holy Spirit in in a new way. Right then, in the middle of the laundry room surrounded by dirty clothes and silent prayer partners, I started to pray in tongues. And you know what, that encounter with God was not noisy, or loud, or crazy. It was quiet, and gentle, and it was amazing, because in that moment I got way closer to God, and hit a milestone in my journey with Jesus.

We are continuing in our Foundations series, looking at what we believe and why we believe it. We’ve spent time looking at who God is, the Bible, the creation account and fall of man, and salvation. Last week we took a break from this to look at the idea of humility and faith, to prepare our hearts as we move forward.

Now, in these next two weeks we are going to talk about the baptism with the Holy Spirit. This is a topic that has a lot of debate associated with it, and can make some feel uncomfortable. People have questions, and rightly so.

But these two weeks are about story. They are about the story of the early believers in Acts. They are about the story of believers who have gone before us. And they are about your story. The goal in these next to weeks is for our faith collectively and individually to be built up as we seek to encounter the Spirit of God in a deeper way. From this, the goal is to be empowered in a fresh way to proclaim Jesus in your actions and words.

These two weeks are not about hot theological debate. They are also not about toting the “Pentecostal” way of doing things. We’re here as believers in Jesus to be grown and stretched in our faith, and to experience a fresh encounter with the Spirit of God. We’re not looking to be Pentecostals in the next two weeks. We are looking as always to simply be humble servants of God, drawing closer to His Spirit. So, to that end, here is the main idea for today:

We desire the Holy Spirit moving like He did in the early church.

Sometimes the church has accidentally or on purpose relegated the Spirit to the background player. But the reality is that for early Christians, the Holy Spirit played a central and vital role in their new lives as Christians. Not just as a marker that they were in the “last days” as we’ll see, but because the Holy Spirit was present in empowering in the early church (Fee). Just like He moved in the earliest days of the church, so we pray that He will move like this today. We excitedly welcome and anticipate such working as a normal part of our experience of walking with Jesus.

Yesterday & Today

From the SOET: On the Day of Pentecost, Jesus poured out the promised Holy Spirit on the church.

The first part of our statement relates a historical fact. Pentecost really did happen.

If we go to Acts 2:1-4

Acts 2:1–4 ESV

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I cannot fully express to you how foundational this is. At this moment, there was a paradigm shift that takes place as the full effect of the new covenant empowering happens.

At Pentecost the start of the full harvest happens. This dates back to the Jewish feast of Pentecost - which marked the start of the full wheat harvest. This foreshadows how, when Jesus poured out the Spirit, the start of the full harvest had come. The period we live in right now, these “last days” as Peter calls them, is when the harvest of God’s people is in full swing.

Peter, quoting Joel 2:28-32

Acts 2:17 ESV

“ ‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;

The early Christians saw themselves as ‘last days” believers, in the sense that the Holy Spirit had now been poured out in a new, and much more deeper/greater capacity than under the old covenant of the Old Testament. Now, the empowering of the Holy Spirit had come in widespread, powerful fashion to the entire church.

But the harvest can only truly happen through the empowerment of the Spirit. In fact, this empowering by the Holy Spirit is so important that Jesus tells the disciples in Luke 24:49:

Luke 24:49 ESV

And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”

The disciples were actually told by Jesus to WAIT. They had not yet received the promised Holy Spirit when Jesus ascended. However, at Pentecost, the fullness of the promised Holy Spirit comes, and there is a great empowering of the church.

Now, this leads us to an important next part:

From the SOET: As his return draws near, Jesus continues to baptize in the Holy Spirit those who are believers.

This is a bold statement. Because essentially what this is saying is that just like at Pentecost, Jesus is continuing to pour out the Spirit in the same way today. But is this the case?

In Acts 2:38-39, Peter says to the crowd:

Acts 2:38–39 ESV

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

Within this verse we see the four normal parts of salvation; repenting, baptism, forgiveness, and then the Holy Spirit (Cornerstone). The promise of salvation and the gift of the Spirit is available not just for this first generation of believers, but continuing generations and we see in this word “for you AND your children.” Not only this, but it is for all who are far off. So salvation and the Holy Spirit are gifts for everyone regardless of race, gender, socio-economic status.

The promise of the indwelling Holy Spirit is for us today as much as it was for Peter, Paul, or St. Augustine, or anyone else in Christian history. It is given to you when you repent of your sin and accept God’s gift of salvation.

It is Jesus who does this “baptizing.” The phrase ‘baptism with the Holy Spirit” is biblical terminology.

Luke 3:16 ESV

John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

So Jesus baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Baptism in the sense that John refers to it is immersion.

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament (βαπτίζω)

To cause to be engulfed or plunged into something

What amazing imagery! To be engulfed or plunged in the Holy Spirit! This is what happens at Pentecost as Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit on His followers. And this same baptism is available for us today, because the Holy Spirit has not stopped moving or working. Instead, even as He did then He continues to empower the church to forward the mission of Jesus Christ.

This leads us to a second point…

Empowering

From the SOET: This empowers them to continue his work of proclaiming with speech and action the good news of the arrival and coming of the kingdom of God.

The empowering of the Holy Spirit is the reason why we can proclaim the gospel message and live lives that reflect our Saviour. Notice what happens at Pentecost. The disciples are gathered together. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon them, and they begin to speak in tongues. In this case, these tongues as we see in the narrative are other foreign languages. From there, we see this great empowerment for proclaiming the gospel.

It is the Holy Spirit that empowers our communication, and our lives for witness. Our statement so appropriately captures this in the way it is worded. However, I think we need to be clear about the nature of tongues itself, as we consider how the Holy Spirit empowers our speech.

Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:2 tells us:

1 Corinthians 14:2 ESV

For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit.

As the disciples in Acts 2, or later in Acts 10, or 19 are baptized in the Holy Spirit, they begin to speak in tongues. In the case of Acts 2, these tongues are other languages discernible to the human mind. In other cases, they may be angelic tongues This means that the tongues are not a language that we can understand or discern. Either way, tongues is between you and God. This is why, for messages in tongues given in the assembly, we need an interpreter. The gift of tongues demonstrates that God empowers our speech, and that He empowers us for witness. We see how they speak as the Spirit gives them utterance! God speaks through His people! If you let God use your mouth, He will empower your speech.

In traditional Pentecostalism, it has been thought that this baptism of the Holy Spirit is a separate and subsequent experience from the initial indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Subsequent means to follow after., separate means apart from. It is true that we see in some instances a separate baptism of the Spirit. Certainly Pentecost would be an example of a subsequent baptism. However, sometimes we see people speaking in tongues immediately after they get saved, as in the cases of Acts 10 and 19.

First, we must be careful not to create two classes of Christianity. As if those who have not seemingly received Spirit baptism and spoken in tongues are somehow lesser than those who have. This is a question I often hear come up, and it is accompanied often by hurt and fear. Why wouldn’t God give me this second blessing? Is there something wrong? Are they better than me? Galatians 3:28 tells us we are one in Jesus. The benchmark is Jesus. There is no caste system in Jesus’ body.

So in this body of believers, whether you’ve spoken in tongues, or you haven’t, we are one in Christ Jesus. No one is better than another.

Is there a separate and subsequent empowering? I don’t know. As I studied this over the past few weeks, I have not been able to come to a clear conclusion on if the Biblical evidence point to something separate from the salvation event, or if it is all tied together.

Here is what I do know, each one of us has and will have a different encounter with God. For me, I first spoke in tongues in the basement of my parent house, in the laundry room during a prayer meeting. It wasn’t big or loud, but in that moment I had this awesome encounter with God in which He gave me the gift of tongues.

You all have different stories, but one and the same Spirit. And it is the one and the same Spirit that empowers our speech and action in order that we might praise God and testify to what He has done for us in Christ.

In that same heart, the reality is that all of us are on a journey with Jesus, growing through the work of the Holy Spirit. So it is natural that at times, as we earnestly seek God and repent and draw closer to Him, we should have awesome encounters such as speaking in tongues, or perhaps prophesying, or a fresh empowering for witness and service. These times forward our growth and maturity.

So have you spoken in tongues? If yes, praise God! May He continue to grow this in your life. Realizing that it is one gift among many that the Spirit gives. Have you not spoken in tongues yet? Ok! This gift is for you as well. It may feel like it is embarrassing, or weird. But the truth is that just like prophecy, or discernment, tongues is a normal part of the Christian experience. The apostle Paul certainly thought so! But realize its primary place in building up you as a believer.

Regardless if you have received tongues or not, recognize how, when the Holy Spirit is poured out, Christ’s followers are empowered for witness. I want to encourage you to submit yourself to God and humbly ask Him to give you this - to give you a fresh encounter with the Holy Spirit. Likewise if you have received this gift, how can you grow in it. And what other gifts might the Spirit want to give you?

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, regardless of how we wish to define the timing, is a powerful encounter with God that leads us to praise Him. It brings a beautiful empowerment for witness in our words and actions. We should seek often to have fresh encounters with God and continue to grow in the empowerment of the Spirit.

This leads to a third point…

For Everyone

From the SOET: This experience is available for everyone, male and female, of every age, status, and ethnicity.

It is important for us to realize that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is available to everyone. Everyone, man, woman, child, business person, janitor, teacher, pastor, judge, politician, stay at home mom or dad, no matter the colour of your hair or skin. Jesus pours out His Spirit upon all of us alike, regardless of what we look like or our status or position.

Galatians 3:28 ESV

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Remember the promise from the end of Peter’s Pentecost sermon:

Acts 2:39 ESV

For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

For all who are far off - this is me and you! We are far off both geographically, time wise, and in ethnicity. It doesn’t matter. This word everyone or Hosos in Greek means “as many as.” As many as the Lord calls, from every generation, race, gender, and culture.

In Acts 2, we see the Holy Spirit poured out upon the Jews who are there. It is an amazing experience and from this suddenly 3000 more souls come to Jesus. This is amazing!

However, it didn’t stop there. In Acts 1 8 Jesus said to the disciples:

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

As we travel through the book of Acts, we see this continuing, with God moving and working in Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. in Acts 8, we encounter this short story of how the church in Jerusalem responded when they heard that those in Samaria had received the gospel as Philip preached.

So the Jerusalem church sent Peter and John down to Samaria. Now, this is an amazing story because in this story there seems to be a delaying, or a separate and subsequent encounter with the Holy Spirit. It is not until the apostles lay their hands on these Samaritan believers that they received the gift of the Spirit. Acts 8:14-16

Acts 8:14–16 ESV

Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

When the apostles lay their hands on them, they receive the Holy Spirit. What does this tell us? Well, it has been suggested that this event actually is special, because God purposely delayed the coming of the Spirit upon them, so that the apostles could witness the same empowering come upon the Samaritans as upon the Jews. Samaritans were hated by Jews - considered half breeds. This was a feud that harkened back to Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son. But in one instant, God smashed a huge cultural barrier, joining together Jews and Samaritans in Christ. Being baptized in the Spirit is for everyone!

Similarly, in Acts 10, Peter is shown the blanket of food, and told:

Acts 10:15 (ESV)

“What God has made clean, do not call common.”

After this, Peter visits the home of the centurion Cornelius. Peter told them:

Acts 10:28 ESV

And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.

But here’s the really cool part, as Peter shares with them the gospel - even before He is finished speaking, something amazing happens.

Acts 10:44–46 (ESV)

While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God.

Jesus pours out the Holy Spirit on these Gentile believers, showing how the gift of salvation and the Spirit is not the possession of one nation, but the free gift of God to all who will accept it.

More stories, like Acts 9, or Acts 19, demonstrate this remarkable reality that the kingdom of God is made up of folks from every race, generation, status, and background.

Again, if we desire the Spirit to move today as He did in Acts, we must understand that God loves people from all different backgrounds, ages, and races. He calls us all into His family, and Jesus takes each one of us on a journey of growing to be more like Him every day.

Conclusion

We desire the Holy Spirit moving like He did in the early church.

Folks, if we want to the Holy Spirit to move as He did in Acts, we need to be open and hungry for it.

What we have seen from the Bible here is that the Holy Spirit does move now as He did then. We have also seen that empowerment for witness comes through the Holy Spirit. And we have seen that this experience of empowering, the gift of tongues and other gifts, are for all believers. Not just a select few.

Pentecostalism was born out of a deep dissatisfaction for what was, and a deep hunger for the Spirit of God to move. These were Christians with a deep desire from God to see Him move as He had before. So this is not about being Pentecostal. It’s about being Christian, a Christ-follower. And as Christ-followers, we should earnestly desire the Spirit of God to be working in us, and to be using us! How can we grow, how can we go and proclaim the gospel, if not empowered by the Spirit to do so? Moreover, how can we not want to know our God better? How can we not want as much of Him as we can possibly get?

The early Christians didn’t see the Spirit of God as a side-liner. He was at the forefront of their new lives lived in Jesus Christ. He made it possible by empowering them. Friends, if we reject the working of the Spirit, we relegate Him to the background of our faith. Thus our faith loses its potency and withers.

We cannot afford to wither. Instead, we need to desire God to move as He did before.